The invention relates to a process and apparatus for feeding fiber material, in particular cotton, etc. from a device for opening pressed bales of fiber material set up in series to a hopper feeder. The fiber material is opened and successively removed layerwise from the fiber bales and pneumatically fed to the hopper feeder. The fiber material is fed into a filling chamber in the hopper feeder to form a fiber material bed, and then delivered to a processing machine.
For mixing opened fiber material from fiber bales set up in series, it has been known to supply to a hopper feeder the fiber material successively removed layerwise from pressed bales set up in a row. Generally, the hopper feeder comprises an inclined spiked feed lattice directed upwardly and outwardly, with a receiving chamber arranged ahead thereof for the supplied fiber material. Further, a reciprocating feeding means is provided for the fiber material supplied from the bale opener. The fiber material removed layerwise from the row of bales includes a certain mixture of fibers of all bales of a row of bales. A further mixing may be preformed in the hopper feeder in that the supplied fiber material is heaped in height in the receiving chamber of the hopper feeder. The spiked feed lattice of the hopper feeder takes fiber material from the bottom to the top at the end face of the fiber heap in the receiving chamber of the hopper feeder. From the bale opener, the fiber material is supplied by the feeding means reciprocating above the receiving chamber in a direction vertical to the surface of the spiked feed lattice. As a result, the constructional height of the hopper feeder is restricted and the speed of the reciprocating movement of the feeding means is limited as well so that the fiber material fed to the spiked feed lattice is disposed consecutively relative to the latter in the hopper feeder. Therefore, the fiber material situated at the fiber bed endside surface which is confronted with the spiked feed lattice originates from a low number of bales of the row of bales. While a further mixing of the fiber material is realized by its passage through the hopper feeder, the mixing effect is not very intense, particularly if the number of bales forming a row in connection with the opening means is high.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to improve the mixing effect for fiber material in a hopper feeder which has been delivered from pressed bales of fiber material set up in a row. The invention is characterized in that the the fiber material removed continuously from the row of bales forms a fiber material bed in the filling chamber of the hopper feeder. Delivery into the chamber is performed in a longitudinal direction to the fiber bed being formed. Fiber is removed from the fiber bed in a direction of the height of one of the longitudinal sides of the bed.